A Deal

Xu Xian rambled on for a while, leaving Jin Qing in a daze.

It was undeniable that Bai Mang was not only shrewd but also quite the smooth talker; he had likely made up his mind from the very beginning.

She also had to admit that she was indeed moved by his words.

Regardless of Bai Mang's motives or personal interests, he was right about one thing: it was a win-win situation.

In recent years, she had read through the history books of the human race, seeing the rise and fall of generations.

Whether it was the prosperity and decline of dynasties or the rise of sects, change was inevitable, and it always involved a series of reforms.

In these reforms, one necessity was the centralization of power.

In any group in the world, there were always multiple voices, but there needed to be one person who could have the final word among those many voices.

Furthermore, this person had to have the support of everyone to possess the prerequisites for a revolution.

Looking back at the history of the Demon Abyss, it was the same.

In the archaic era, the Demon Lord was born, and under his leadership, the nether beasts were driven out, allowing the demon race to dominate the Demon Abyss.

In the ancient era, the Nether Sovereign held power, and the Demon Abyss stood tall in Fanzhou, striking fear into the hearts of the world.

Even in the current era, under the leadership of the demon sovereign, the demon race had left this Demon Abyss and planted their battle flags on the edge of the Northern Borders, ten thousand miles outside the Blazing Fortress.

If not for the sudden emergence of the Sword Demon, the demon race might have held the top spot among the four great races.

Even after the great defeat in that past war, the demon race still possessed the strength to aspire to world dominance until the demon sovereign fell and the Spirit-Sealing Seal was lost.

Since then, the Demon Abyss had no demon sovereign.

Although she had been pushed into the position of High Priest by the seven families and nominally ruled the Demon Abyss, the two conflicting voices within the abyss had never stopped their constant bickering and fighting.

Many times she wanted to take action, but she was hindered by the checks and balances of various factions, causing many of her plans and ideas to die in their infancy.

Even after four thousand years of management and planning, she still could not change the fact that the demon gods rose up to attack her during yesterday's battle.

She had lost.

She had lost utterly and completely.

If Bai Mang had not suddenly appeared and staged that performance, she would likely be on her way to meet the past demon sovereigns by now.

A demon son!

It was a title, perhaps even a hollow position, but his appearance would inevitably be accompanied by a change in the power structure.

Furthermore, yesterday Bai Mang had appeared before the eyes of the entire Nether Capital in such a manner.

The whole world knew.

The demon gods could no longer use their personal interests to manipulate or change things.

Even if they could, no one was willing to risk public condemnation and carry a reputation that would stink for ten thousand years.

Besides.

No one dared to guarantee that Bai Mang did not truly possess the bloodline of the Demon Lord, the descendant of the ancient Immortal-Demon lineage.

Only...

Jin Qing spoke against her true feelings, "The fortune of the Demon Abyss and the rise and fall of a race, all staked on a single gamble... Hah... what kind of person do you take me for? A fanatic? A gambler?"

Xu Xian naturally saw through Jin Qing's little act; her heart was moved, but her mouth remained stubborn.

He did not bother to say much more and simply mocked her.

"You are already in this state, do you think you still have a choice? Besides cooperating with me, what else can you do?"

Speaking of this, Jin Qing's anger flared up, and she spoke with the resentment of a slighted woman, "The reason I became like this is all thanks to you, is it not?"

Xu Xian would not take the blame and immediately countered, "Don't. You cannot blame me for this. You were the one who insisted on making a scene. I was only acting in self-preservation. If you want to blame someone, blame your own overconfidence in your abilities."

As he spoke, Xu Xian did not forget to remind her, "Being confident is a good thing, but blind confidence is arrogance, which harms both yourself and others. Take your plan to open the Nether Gate; what made you think you could control those nether beasts?"

Jin Qing glared at him. "And what makes you think I could not?"

Xu Xian said indifferently, "Is it not obvious? You cannot even control me, and you cannot even manage the heavenly demon race, so how do you expect to control the nether beasts?"

Jin Qing was left speechless.

Xu Xian used a strategic retreat to advance. "You do not need to rush to answer me. You can think it over carefully. Once you have thought it through, we can talk again about whether you will do this or not."

"Regardless of whether you do it, I certainly will. If you do not work with me, I will find someone else. I think that fellow Chi Ming would be very interested."

Since things had been laid out so clearly, there was no point in Jin Qing trying to test him further.

Just as Bai Mang said, she had no better choice now.

She took a deep breath, her expression softening. "You are right. At least you are very sincere. Although sincerity is worth nothing, at least I know what you are after. You seek wealth, and I seek power. Whether we are partners in crime or like-minded allies, it does not matter."

She turned to Xu Xian and extended a slender, white hand from beneath her long sleeve, smiling slightly. "I accept this deal!"

Xu Xian was slightly taken aback; this kind of handshake etiquette was extremely rare in Fanzhou.

However, it was quite common where he came from, which inevitably made him feel a bit dazed.

But all things under heaven led to the same destination; whether it was a cupped-fist salute, a contract, a hug, or a handshake, they were all just forms, so there was no need to be rigid.

He reached out and shook her hand, smiling. "A pleasure doing business with you!"

That night, by the side of the Nether Pool, a deal was reached amidst mutual testing and calculation.

Both had their own selfish motives and their own little schemes.

They both knew what the other wanted and were equally aware of the other's calculations.

Xu Xian wanted to use the High Priest's hand to obtain a massive amount of Shadow Soul Stones.

As for the High Priest, she only wanted to bind Bai Mang to the demon race's war chariot to trade for a future for the Demon Abyss and leave a way out for the demon race.

Whether Bai Mang's feelings were genuine or false, whether it was a calculation or sincerity.

And whether he was truly an Immortal-Demon or not.

She only knew that he could condense nether fire and that he was exceptionally talented; these were exactly what she wanted.

Furthermore.

She had originally planned to push him into that position anyway.

Whether he wanted it or not, whether he fled or accepted it, the result would be the same.

As for everything else...

Once Bai Mang truly sat in that position, it would no longer be up to him.

With the demon son seated in the Nether Hall and ruling over the Demon Abyss, how could he possibly remain uninvolved?

Of course, Xu Xian was no fool; he also knew that this High Priest might not truly want so-called power, and he understood that she wanted to bind him to the Demon Abyss.

This was only human nature.

It was just like how his first thought after realizing Lu Yuan was extraordinary was to bind it to the Wendao Sword Sect, so they would rise and fall together.

Human nature was universal.

Truthfully.

He did not mind protecting the demon race, provided the entire demon race listened to him; who would ever complain about having too many enforcers? It was the same logic as never having too much money.

As long as he became the demon son, the Demon Abyss would not cause trouble.

He could use the High Priest's influence to reorganize the Demon Abyss and make it useful to him in the future.

Then he would not mind granting the Demon Abyss peace, ensuring mutual non-aggression with the Northern Borders, and even allowing the demon race to reside near the Black Sand Sea.

Others might not be able to achieve this.

But Bai Mang was Xu Xian, the Little Grand-Uncle of the Wendao Sword Sect, and very likely the one who would succeed Ye Xianyu as the new Sect Master in the future.

He still had this much authority.

The supreme art of war is to outmaneuver the enemy's strategy; the next best is to outmaneuver their alliances.

Killing the enemy was not considered true skill; making the enemy useful to oneself was true mastery.

Xu Xian felt that if it could be this way, it would be for the best.

If it did not work out, he could just walk away, and it would not have much of an impact on him.

Carrying their different thoughts, the two began to move, discussing the details of their next plan...